guidelines for panning final mix?

G

gk-one

New member
hello again,
just thought i would throw this out there to see what i can learn from your experiences:
i know that panning fluctuates depending on what instruments are to be of primary focus in the mix but i'm going to give a scenerio and see what you would do with it. you have 8 recorded trax. lets say the drums are already panned and recorded to 2 of those trax. on the remaining 6 trax you have: bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, one lead vocal and 2 harmony vocal trax. using 0 as center and 100 as hard L/R where would you place these trax within the mix to create optimum stereo imaging. if you would mix it different ways for different styles please feel free to specify. so let it rip!
 
Or maybe you could just start playing around with it and share some of your ideas.... :D

I could not tell you what I would do because I have not heard these tracks.

Are you aware though that the more you pan something to one side, the louder it gets in the mix? Ponder that.

Ed Rei
Echo Star Studio www.echostarstudio.com
 
Is it that it actually gets LOUDER? Or is it just that it *seems* louder because the panning sort of makes it "stand out"?
 
It actually is no "louder" panned hard L/R than it is at center. it just becomes more isolated in the mix making it more prevalent. with all do respect to our esteemed moderator i fully understand that you and the others have not heard these tracks. i myself have not heard the tracks. i was trying to open the doors of communication concerning panning. some of our fellow posters may have their own tricks and or ideas in this area and i am still iterested in hearing about them. using the scenerio i provided or otherwise.
thank you
garrett
 
Such curtousy... :)

I am a propenent of mixing being an art. Posing rhetorical questions seems counter to this. Why? Simply, without hearing the tracks, how would one decide what to do???

So I do understand the nature of your question. But my question is, what good is this question?

Not trying to harp on you hear, nor try to make the question seem trivial or dumb. I just don't see a value in it.

Concerning the panning issue of the sound getting louder if you pan it hard. I should have said "seems" to get louder.
 
I would always put Bass in the center, and If there are two guitars, one right (75%) and one left... Lead vocal should be center and I would use a separate reverb/delay stereo return for the Lead vocal.... This would give it a stereo image and make it stand out of the mix. Harmony vocals slightly panned 50/50 or so. If you have multiple reverbs, I would use them to send a dry signal left and wet right or visa versa..

Dom Franco
 
Yo Guys and Panning for the Gold:

I was surfing around the other day and found a great article, simple to read, by a recording engineer who called himself: "a somewhat musician, a learning recording person, etc."

His main thrust was the recording and mixing are NOT PRESCRIPTIVE; the process is creative and one who engineers usually will consult with the group or producer and get some direction as to what sound the client or producer is after; then, it's to the mics, recording, and ultimately mixing. I really enjoyed the article because it all boiled down to "do it, practice, experiment, and learn your equipment."

Cheers,

Green Hornet
PS I sure learn a great deal from all of you people and that is enjoyable.



[This message has been edited by The Green Hornet (edited 02-03-2000).]
 
Of course one can't give definite advice with out hearing.
I also don't think gk-one is trying to get anybody here
to mix his song for him ( I hope ?)just to pick up some tips. and there is no harm in that right?

I can say that there is the middle of the road way of doing things and that would be a good starting point

How many people pan bass hard left ?!?!?.
I am willing to bet (with out hearing them all) that for every 1000 songs recorded, bass is panned center. Perhaps 1 of them has a bass panned L or R

Another example - 99% of people will pan kick and snare center. If one of these are not centered you can lose a solid point of focus not to mention a hotter side on the stereo spectrum.

It doesn't mean that you can't experiment and try new things but why not show people the basic classic way and then from there they are free as a bird to pan wildly.

GK- here is a interesting bass tip.
Go for a stereo bass sound by panning a dry mono bass part hard left and then use a delay to create another part.
Use a short delay of 5-23ms and pan the delay hard right
Adjust the levels on your metersso the right and left are the same (solo the bass). This will open your center and make room for your lead vocals or other center panned instruments.
DANGER !! - this can sound like shit in a mono mix but in a stereo mix it's cool. To adjust it in mono you have to tweek the delay time to get a good part.



[This message has been edited by Shailat (edited 02-03-2000).]
 
i am certainly not looking for anyone to mix a song for me. just looing for some cool ideas. and that stereo bass idea is definately something i wll try.
thanx for your thoughts
garrett
 
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